Lesvos is hot

Weeks before strong earthquakes hit Turkey and Syria, I had sleepless nights because here too the earth shook. However not as badly as on the other side. Some houses on Lesvos were damaged, although, as far as I know, no building entirely collapsed. Continue reading ->

A pinch of salt

 

Most tourists pass the salt mountain of Kalloni when they are going to Molyvos. With a bit of luck, it’s still looking like a snowy Swiss alp, shining brightly under a clear blue sky; fewer tourists will know the white mountains of Skala Polichnitos, also on the Gulf of Kalloni. Continue reading ->

Hypeorea

Finally winter has arrived on the island. Boreas, the North wind, merrily roars over the island, lowering temperatures along his way and he also brought his daughter Chione, goddess of the snow. She has deposited a thin layer of ice-cold fuzz over a large part of the island.  Continue reading ->

112-terror

 

Yesterday when I was having a coffee with a friend, in the early afternoon, suddenly a shrill dark sound blared through the room. We nearly fell off our chairs ­— so scary it was. We looked at each other: ‘what is this’?! It absolutely didn’t sound like an earthquake. Continue reading ->

Culinary curiosities

 

Lots of ingredients for Greek dishes have been imported in earlier times. From their far away travels and campaigns, explorers and military men like Alexander the Great, brought home exotic fruits and vegetables. This is how tomatoes, aubergines and cucumbers were slowly integrated into Greek cuisine. Continue reading ->

Festivity Calendar

 

In ancient times Greeks were not playing cards during New Year in order to ensure luck for the coming year. They didn’t throw pomegranates on New Year’s Day; nor did they carry water, in silence, from a holy source to their homes; nor was a cake presented with a hidden coin (causing many teeth to be broken). Continue reading ->

Jingle Bells

 

The autumn was unusually warm and the serious rains only came to us very late. Due to the long drought only a few mushrooms have dared to lift their heads from the earth. My house carried on as an ideal hunting grounds for mosquitos. Continue reading ->

Sweet honey

Along with olive oil and goat cheeses, Lesvos has a lot to offer: like honey. When enquiring about the best honey, you will find suggestions for many sources. It seems every village has its own beekeeper and no matter to which local seller you go to buy, the honey tastes like food for the gods. Continue reading ->

Dream Hotel

When friends were joking about a Hilton on Faneromeni beach I thought they were kidding. But they were not far off from the truth: there are plans for a hotel to be built in the area between that house that rises like a pink creamy pudding at the Faneromeni beach and the little cave church, (Zoodochos Pigi). Continue reading ->

Looking for a dream house

More and more people dream of a house in Greece: away from the crowds, the cold, the rain, with a view on an azure blue sky hovering over an equal blue sea. Long live the quietness. Continue reading ->

Anna Paulowna

 Lesvos is rich with chestnut trees, but not all chestnuts are being harvested and the culinary use is mostly roasted chestnuts. Maybe because peeling these nuts is a horrible job. YouTube came with a new method: super. Also the use of wood of chestnut trees is limited. But look at a new forest in Sigri. There all trees already are sold! Continue reading ->

So long, Lela!

 

Another icon gone from Molyvos: Lela, who had a country house in Eftalou and could be seen during the whole year swimming. Her loud voice and roaring laugh so well known in the village as well as in Eftalou. A woman who loved living. She is no more. So long, Lela. Continue reading

Grape trees

 Lesvos was known for its delicious wines, until an illness at the end of the nineteenth century ended all vineyards. Also Dionysus was worshipped, God if the wine and the parties. Grape plants are hard to extinguish; they now again grow in abundance on the island, continue reading

From Parrot fish to Zebra fish

 (Parrot fish, photo: internet)

Summer can also be called the festival season, just like on Lesvos. From music- to food festivals, like the Sardine Festival. But there is more to catch in the sea, fish with an own story. Continue reading

Country of Beach and ashes

 

Saturday, July 23 2022, a big fire started at Vatera. It reduced some houses and a business into ashes, attacked the beach and burned ten thousands acres of land between Vatera, Stavros and Vrisa. Sad days for the island, continue reading

Fox Talk

 

(Photo: internet)

Lesvos is an island with plenty of foxes. Lately I saw a strange animal passing by, looking like a bald fox. What was that?! For sure it wasn’t Teumessus, who for a long time terrorised Thebes: continue reading

The guards

About a screaming Sultan, the very first artichoke and lots of more thistles that guard the island, continue reading

The attack

They are small terrorists making all the oceans unsafe: jellyfish. This summer the purple jellyfish has decided to invade the South European seas: keep baking soda and salt water ready. Continue reading

A magic garden

 

The month of June stands for mountains of fruit: cherries, apricots, mulberries, peaches. Masses fall out of the trees, when not picked. And they all ripen in the same time, making it very busy in the kitchens for fruit preservation. Here a column about this lovely month, continue reading

Artists of Lesvos

 

Thé painter of Lesvos is Theofilos, who captured his time of life on the island on canvasses and walls. Also photographer and film maker Tzeli Hadjidimitriou tries to save life on Lesvos from getting eaten by the time. But there are more artists on the island. Part of them will be represented at the end of May on the exhibition All Arts Expo Avlonas, continue reading